Researchers from the Badlands Dinosaur Museum have published a description of a new type of fossil
The remains of Daspletosaurus wilsoni have been discoveredduring excavations in rocks that occupy an intermediate position between the tyrannosaurus rex and the ancient representatives of tyrannosaurids. Researchers believe that this species lived in the territory of the modern United States about 76 million years ago.
Fossil jaws and reconstructed bones of Daspletosaurus wilsoni.Image: Elías Warshaw, Denver Fowler, Dickinson Museum Center
The new species exhibits a combination of traits found in more primitive tyrannosaurids from older breeds, such as a protruding setAt the same time, it can be found to have features characteristic of later members of this group (including Tyrannosaurus rex).These are, for example, the shape of the eye socket and the dilated air pockets in the skull.
Remains of tyrannosaurids, a family of dinosaurswhich includes Tyrannosaurus rex - were found in large numbers in North America and Asia. However, many details of the evolution of these animals remain unclear, the authors of the study say. Since the 1990s, scientists have debated whether daspletosaurus, large tyrannosaurids found in some US states, are the ancestors of the rex.
Reconstructed appearance of Daspletosaurus wilsoni. Image: Andrey Atuchin & Badlands Dinosaur Museum
In the late Cretaceous period in the territory of the NorthernAmerica, many families of dinosaurs were represented by several closely related species. Previously it was believed that they existed at the same time. But new discoveries cast doubt on this hypothesis, for many species of dinosaurs linear rather than branching evolution has already been proven, scientists say. This means that new species succeeded each other, and did not exist side by side. The results of this work confirm the linear nature of evolution for the rex as well.
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Cover image: Rudolf Hima & Badlands Dinosaur Museum